So bizarrely soothing. This tape's just about a year younger than me, made well before I would have been working retail - but nevertheless a familiar vibe to anyone who's ever had to sit behind a cash register for 8 hours. Sometimes this stuff was all you had to focus on while whittling the days away. And every time there's a Kmart ad I can just smell the weird, plasticy warehousey smell of the one near my house as a kid, with its oppressive fluorescent lights, so cluttered and yet feeling so vacant. That Kmart somehow kept trucking along until Covid finally did it in back in 2020, insanely enough.

Gotta say I've been doing some work while letting this play and my productivity has been great as a result. Just something about this makes me feel able to put my nose to the grindstone. I guess that's really why they curate their playlists the way they do, huh? I've definitely heard some of these songs before as retail background music in other places, but I've never really "paid attention" to them until now - I feel like I can actually appreciate a lot of this stuff musically for the first time.

This is all to say, thanks for uploading this stuff - as strange as it is, I deeply and sincerely think this Kmart collection is worth preserving.

This is one of my favorite tapes of the whole collection. There's some awesome tracks mixed in on this tape, including an extremely rare song by the band Animal Logic, 'Another Place,' which has some wonderful vocals from Deborah Holland. Vanessa Williams 'Darlin' I', which sadly fades out early due to tape runout, reached #10 on the Hot AC charts in 1988 but has basically been nothing but unknown to anybody since then. Sweet song with her signature voice.
And what about Deon Estus and George Michael's duet 'Heaven Help Me'? What a great song...and besides these tapes I've never heard it on the radio. #5 on the Hot 100? Heh, no one would know that!
Thanks again!

As with the others, makes me remember working at The Saving Place. Thanks!

00:03 - Kmart - "Kmart Radio Promo (KMRT)"
00:14 - Wilson Phillips - "Daniel"
04:12 - Waterfront - "Cry"
07:56 - Kmart - "Ladies and Girls Departments"
08:52 - Kmart - "No Smoking"
09:10 - Deon Estus - "Heaven Help Me"
13:47 - Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra - "The Way We Were"
16:16 - Jody Watley - "Affairs of the Heart"
21:33 - Vince Gill - "Oh Girl (You Know Where to Find Me)"
25:02 - Kmart - "Layaway"
25:21 - Kmart - "Sporting Goods"
25:59 - Donny Osmond - "Soldier of Love"
29:47 - Carly Simon - "Let the River Run"
33:31 - Tiffany - "All This Time"
37:45 - Kmart - "Shoe Department"
38:22 - Kmart - "Our Associates"
38:39 - Alan Parsons Project - "Eye in the Sky"
42:58 - Kmart - "Gift Certificates"
43:30 - Kenny G - "Champagne"
46:20 - Kmart - "Kmart Radio Promo (KMRT)"
46:31 - Level 42 - "Guaranteed"
50:37 - Tears for Fears - "Advice for the Young at Heart"
55:18 - Kmart - "Ladies and Girls Departments"
56:14 - Kmart - "No Smoking"
56:32 - Muzak - Unidentified
59:46 - Commodores - "Easy"
1:03:51 - Kmart - "Layaway"
1:04:10 - Kmart - "Sporting Goods"
1:04:49 - Animal Logic - "Another Place"
1:09:03 - Van Morrison - "Moondance"
1:13:05 - Kmart - "Shoe Department"
1:13:42 - Kmart - "Our Associates"
1:13:58 - Bryan Adams - "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You"
1:18:03 - Bellamy Brothers - "Let Your Love Flow"
1:21:13 - Kmart - "Gift Certificates"
1:21:44 - Paula Abdul - "Forever Your Girl"
1:26:38 - Vanessa Williams - "Darlin' I"